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TConspiracy (Prodigy Member) Bret-What did you think of the Jim Neidhart skit and how do you and him get along these days?
BRET HART (Speaker) Jim and I get along fine. I don't think his judgement was that good, but he went down there to do what he could for the best interest of his family and his job at that time. The fact they humiliated him out of spite for me is more of a bad reflection on them than anyone else. I think Jim did have a choice, and made a mistake in judgement....and he didn't have the benefit of my advice or anyone else's, and they made a fool of him.
BRET HART (Speaker) There's nothing that can't be remedied over time. I think it showed what a bunch of horrible people Vince McMahon, Jim Ross, etc etc. have become. It reeked of evil.
DamnMartinSW (Prodigy Member) Thanks for joining us. Take us though what happened with your last few weeks with the WWF? What was the planned finish? What was your first reaction when you lost?
BRET HART (Speaker) Ultimately, the planned finish would have been for me to leave with my head up, still the champion, in a dignified manner, befitting of a veteran of 14 years. It would have set the stage for me to step down as WWF Champion on Monday Night RAW in Ottawa, where I would have thanked the WWF and especially thanked Vince McMahon for the opportunity to perform around the world for millions of fans where I had the canvas as an artist to play out the greatest 20 minute movies as the best wrestler of all time. It breaks my heart that it didn't go that way. I can only shake my head and wonder at the absurdity and the flat out horrible judgement that altered that ending. It really breaks my heart.
WrstleMOania (Prodigy Member) Bret - Is there anyone other than Owen/Davey, obviously, that you will miss?
BRET HART (Speaker) Oh yeah, lots. I'll very much miss the Undertaker. I actually think it would be fair to say that I'll miss 85% of the wrestlers and the people I worked with. I'll take this opportunity to thank Mankind for his small show of defiance. It meant a lot to me, and showed what kind of a professional he is. I'll also say that I've had calls from just about every wrestler in the company, with the exception of a handful, who feel the same way that I do. Because they can't get out of their contracts, and I would be jeopardizing their positions by saying who my friends are, it's best to be very vague. The one thing I learned first hand about the WWF is that between Vince McMahon and his little inner circle is that there is no integrity whatsoever. There's no respect for the wrestlers positions whatsoever. They will go to any length to destroy anybody who doesn't see things their way.
NWA4Life (Prodigy Member) You have said that Vince McMahon approached you and told you he was in "financial dire straights". Do you have knowledge of any specific financial problem the WWF might be facing?
BRET HART (Speaker) Unfortunately, I can only assume Vince McMahon to be a big liar, and who knows what's true and what's not true when it comes out of his mouth. I don't doubt that he has some kind of money problems, and if he does I hope they expose themselves sooner than later.
NWA4Life (Prodigy Member) The WWF has apologized a couple of times for offensive programming on RAW...once for the Brian Pullman gun incident, and once for your use of profanity. Was the WWF aware that you were going to use profanity on RAW before it happened?
BRET HART (Speaker) No. The one time that I specifically remember using foul language was a time in upstate New York somewhere. I had been misled, I think by the referee, that we were off the air. I got so angry that the ending was all botched up that it reflected in a tirade of nasty swear words, which I thought were going to be bleeped out and used the following week. I had no idea that we were still on the air, and would have acted differently had I known otherwise. I explained that to Vince McMahon upon seeing him later and was never reprimanded. If anything, I think he was glad it happened.
NWA4Life (Prodigy Member) Prior to the initial conversation you had with McMahon where he told you he wouldn't be able to honor the contract, had you been given any idea what the WWF long range plan was going to be involving your character? For instance, did you have a program worked out for WRESTLEMANIA yet?
BRET HART (Speaker) I had expected to wrestle Steve Austin at WrestleMania, as champion. Anything in between would have been merely stepping stones as I was led to believe.
NWA4Life (Prodigy Member) Have you received payment for all monies owed you by the WWF? Were they current with you at the time McMahon approached you about changing the contract? If they owe you money, do you expect to have to take them to court?
BRET HART (Speaker) At this point in time, they have paid me almost all my money. I expect, judging by the payments that have been made since my departure, that they'll honor their contract with me. I should get all my money.
NWA4Life (Prodigy Member) Your match with Undertaker was not included in the US version of the One Night Only PPV. Any comment?
BRET HART (Speaker) I don't know why that is. It seems to be a decision based on possibly not wanting people to see how really great I really am. To those that haven't seen it, it was an awesome match, and a credit to both myself and the Undertaker in the sense that it really had none of the markings of any of our previous matches. It was very credible, very hard fought, and in a lot of ways showed that he and I are without a doubt two of the best workers in the business today. For both of us who are immensely popular in England, I enjoyed the split with the crowd despite some obviously twisted commentary by that twit Jim Ross. The match itself was a great piece of art, and for anyone who doubts my ability or value going into WCW, I suggest they try to find a copy of that tape or that match. They'll see why I'm still the best. It restores my faith in myself.
PauI in NJ (Prodigy Member) Why did Owen Hart abandon the aerial style he did earlier in his career?
BRET HART (Speaker) Owen severed a ligament in his knee. It's a tribute to his courage that he can work at all. I'm not talking about a strained ligament or a torn cartilage, I'm talking about a severed ligament. I don't know how he does it anymore.
PauI in NJ (Prodigy Member) Have you ever wrestled Dory Funk Jr and where would you rank him with the best of all time?
BRET HART (Speaker) I did wrestle Dory Funk Jr in a tag team match in my old Stampede Wrestling days. I didn't really get that much time with him in that match, but I think it's fair to say that Dory Funk Jr was conceivably the greatest worker of all time. He really set the stage for wrestlers like me. Dory Funk never ever looked rehearsed or choreographed. Only real. He was often imitated, but never duplicated.
Calgary01 (Prodigy Member) What do you consider the best match you ever wrestled in the WWF?
BRET HART (Speaker) That's a tough question. I've been very fortunate to have worked with the all time greats of the last 10-15 years. I do believe that many of the guys I wrestled against, and with much credit to them, we had the best matches they ever had. If you look at Roddy Piper, Mr. Perfect, British Bulldog, Owen Hart, Shawn Michaels, Diesel, Razor, Yokozuna, Bam Bam Bigelow, Isaac Yankem, Hakushi, and so many more I can't think of...they all had their best match with me. I don't think that it's a coincidence. If you look back at all those matches you'll find one thing in common, in the sense that not one of those matches was the same as any other one I ever had with anyone else. They were all different matches. For me to pick the best one of them all, my personal favorite has always been the Bulldog match at Wembley Stadium in 1992. I still think that it was the most intense solid believable credible match ever documented on film. Even though I lost.
SHAQ VADER (Prodigy Member) Bret, what is your relationship with Shawn Michaels now? Was he pissed off at what happened at Survivor Series?
BRET HART (Speaker) I don't doubt for a second that Shawn Michaels was in on the whole thing. His emotional temper tantrum at the end of the match was merely as close as he can come to good acting. His crying and weeping like a baby in the dressing room, while he sat in the corner biting his nails, were much the same. I suspected he was a rat, and I know he promised me in front of all the other wrestlers that night that he would refuse to go on RAW in Ottawa and would throw the belt down in defiance of the injustice that happened to me. I told him I would judge him by his behavior that next night...and I have. He's a dirty lying cheat. As far as justice goes, I've learned one thing in this business. What goes around comes around. I don't have to worry about getting even. The wrestling business if filled with Bret Harts and somebody will dismantle his ego sooner or later. Maybe it will be some guy in a bar like the one in Syracuse or somewhere else like that, but for a guy like Shawn Michaels, who can't seem to stop getting in trouble with his big mouth and his super ego and chicken sh*t ways...it'll only be a matter of time before he gets what he has coming. I'll read about it somewhere.
RAWisLAME (Prodigy Member) Bret, did Rick Rude's jumping to WCW have anything at all to do with the way you and McMahon parted ways? Also, is there any way Vince can regain even a shred of self-respect for himself or his company?
BRET HART (Speaker) Oh, I'm very much sure that Rick Rude left on account of what happened to me. He as much as said so on the television show. He was there, and he watched it, and along with many others felt horrible about it and was in a position to leave a company that had no respect or integrity where as many others don't have that freedom. The only way Vince McMahon could gain the respect and the integrity that he's lost, contrary to his interview with Jim Ross a week later, would be for him to publicly acknowledge he showed horrible judgement, made a horrific mistake, and that he owes me an apology. If that was to happen, it might reflect him in a better light. I've always learned that when you're right you're right, and when you're wrong you're wrong. I know I was right, he knows he was wrong. The people know the truth.
RAWisLAME (Prodigy Member) Bret, has your opinion of Ric Flair and Hulk Hogan changed any, now that you'll all be working in the same company again?
BRET HART (Speaker) I know I'll sound like a real hypocrite here, but in regard to Ric Flair...I've never personally had anything against him. I think Ric Flair is one of the best performers this game has ever had. My criticisms of him have all been professional criticisms. As a person he has treated me with great respect and has always been totally professional to me outside the ring in all ways. I've regretted for a long time that comments I made about him might have hurt or damaged our relationship. All I really meant to say was that in my opinion he wasn't the greatest wrestler that I ever worked with, and that he was maybe not in the top 5 but in the top 20, but people forget that I've been wrestling for 20 years and have followed wrestling for close to 40 years. In saying that, I was comparing him to every wrestler that ever came down the road in between all those years from Dory Funk to the Dynamite Kid to Harley Race and so on and so on. I never met a wrestler, especially at his age, that could cut a pace like he did....and for a long time I've wanted to apologize to him for any misunderstanding. I know that sounds like crap, but it's all true. As far as Hulk Hogan goes, I had a rather awkward falling out with him at the King of The Ring in 1993. Vince McMahon put a lot of thoughts and words into my head, and one of the last things Hulk Hogan ever said to me was "You don't know the whole story". Now many years later, after being lied to and cheated by Vince McMahon, I find myself saying to Shawn Michaels before my match in the Survivor Series that he didn't know the whole story...and I find that I can relate to Hulk Hogan on a much similar level now. I look forward to hearing him out and him hearing me out on our opinions of Vince McMahon and the dealings that happened.
StormFrontRM (Prodigy Member) Bret, on the SLAM! wrestling website, in your column from the Calgary Sun, you mentioned Theoren Fluery. What can you tell us about how you got to know him, etc., and who else in hockey, if anyone, you have become friendly with.
BRET HART (Speaker) Theoren Fluery is a great friend of mine. We are very close, he's a huge wrestling fan. Several times he has given me the impression that he would be a partner in a match of mine. He's not very big, but he's as tough as they come, and I'd pick him in a second if I needed a good backup. I have many friends in the hockey world. I even have an entire Jr Hockey team called the Calgary Hitmen, and many of the players on that team are like family to me. I have many friends in the sports world. As a matter of fact, one of my very closest friends right now, Timmy Johnson, is now the manager of the Toronto Bluejays. Even aside from sports, Aaron Neville, is one of my closest friends and we talk all the time. Many of these people play a big part in my life, and are an inspiration to me in all ways.
Da Disco Kid (Prodigy Member) Bret, thanks for being here. I was wondering if all the rumors of you and McMahon getting in a physical confrontation is true?
BRET HART (Speaker) Yes, those rumors are true.
Da Disco Kid (Prodigy Member) Bret, When will you make your first WCW appearance?
BRET HART (Speaker) No idea
StormFrontRM (Prodigy Member) Bret, a faction of ardent WWF supporters has criticized you, among other things, for not wanting to "job in Canada." How do you respond to that, especially when they point out Shawn doesn't avoid "jobbing in USA because he's American."
BRET HART (Speaker) Winning and losing are both confusing. I will say this. I've been wrestling for 21 years....and have always, always, been a professional. As far as, and I'll use Vince McMahon's "time honored tradition", I've always honored the tradition. There isn't one wrestler anywhere in any country from any year that ever worked with me who can question my honor of the so called tradition. Out of respect to all the other wrestlers in the dressing room, and for that matter all the wrestlers around the world...I don't think it would be fair to honor someone who does have a problem with honoring the tradition. Shawn Michaels is the problem....was the problem. Shawn Michaels has forfeited three major titles in the last couple of years. It's hard for me to do business for someone who doesn't want to do business. These were all things made very clear to Vince McMahon quite some time ago. It wasn't something that I suddenly had a problem with once I signed with WCW. Aside from that, I still compromised my personal feelings in the end...and was quite prepared to honor that dishonorable little bastard. But I was not prepared to disappoint all my fans across my home country who would have seen my losing to Shawn Michaels as a horrible disappointment, whether I was leaving or staying or whatever. Up here in Canada, it's been a long road in becoming a huge national hero. I really was just trying to look out for my fans on a Remembrance Day weekend where being a Canadian hero meant a lot to me, and meant a lot to them. I still had 21 days left to wrestle anybody else, and/or including Shawn Michaels and to leave the WWF as planned. I hear it that they doubted whether I would have lasted another three week, which I laugh at. Why would I leave the WWF in an undignified way? After 14 years of giving them everything I had, it was even more important for me to leave with integrity, respect, and an open friendly relationship. I was and still am very grateful for all the wonderful memories I have on account of the WWF. Nobody is more sorry than I am that things have happened the way they have. Sadly enough, the one who has been the most hurt and brokenhearted over this whole affair is me. I still can't believe it. I ask myself five times a day every day why it ever happened. The truth is, I still don't know why they did to me what they did. They knew what it meant to me. They knew what I asked was reasonable. The differences it would have made one way or another seem very insignificant to me. Just about any scenario that anyone can imagine would have been better than the one Vince McMahon forced on me, the WWF fans, and even his employees. I don't know if anyone can imagine, but I can, how much worse it could have been....and how much more irrationally or violently the results could have been after. That includes Shawn Michaels, Earl Hebner, Jerry Brisco, and the list goes on and on. Instead, I think I handled myself pretty coolly under the circumstances. Although I'm not real proud of what happened in the dressing room afterwards, I do know I was pretty close to as short a fuse as I have. It would have been easy to have really lost it. I think what kind of an idiot would put that kind of scenario into place. Such a volatile situation. All I can really be criticized for is taking professional wrestling too serious. There is one thing people have to understand about me. Wrestling has been my whole life. I've always prided myself on being a professional. I tried so hard to keep my integrity right to the very end. This man gave me his word. I was leaving with a broken heart, but I was also leaving with the understanding that he was a man of his word. When he betrayed me, he broke something in me that I'm not sure I can ever fix. When I think of Vince McMahon, I just wish I could say to him that he never needed to do that to me. I'll never understand just what the hell he was really thinking.
JPatton (Prodigy Member) Have you spoken with Earl Hebner since the Survivor Series? If so, what was said?
BRET HART (Speaker) No, I never have. I doubt that I ever will. I know that people think that Earl Hebner was just doing his job. Maybe he was. But all he had to do was tell me that the day before as a friend and a man of his word. I told him if he was uncomfortable with me just to say so and that I wouldn't hold it against him, because I suspected something like this was being drawn up. He got tears in his eyes and told me he could never do something like that, and he swore on his children that he would never let it happen and he'd quit his job first. We talked for over a half hour and I left that room, the bathroom in Detroit Michigan, feeling in my heart that he was a close friend and no matter what pressure Vince McMahon put to bear on him, he would never be a part of or be involved in a conspiracy to tear down a guy with the reputation as good as mine. When I finally saw the match back, when I came home, nothing broke my heart more than seeing Earl Hebner sell me out without even any hesitation. It's one thing to get screwed over by my enemies, I already sensed who they were and what they had in mind...but it's a much more hurtful thing when you get screwed over by a very good friend. I hear Earl Hebner is drinking himself into oblivion racked with guilt for the role he played, and all I can say is "Have another drink on me Earl, keep biting your nails like your buddy Shawn, and keep looking over your shoulder, because sooner or later what goes around comes around." That is the nature of the wrestling business, and it's the first and last rule. Always has been and always will be.
JPatton (Prodigy Member) Have you spoken with Kevin Nash and Scott Hall since the Survivor Series? If so, what is their opinion on Shawn's role in the double-cross?
BRET HART (Speaker) I haven't.
JPatton (Prodigy Member) How hard on you was Brian Pillman's death?
BRET HART (Speaker) It was very hard on me for a lot of reasons. I felt that I should have done a lot more for him. I didn't realize how important he was to me as a friend. He was very close to being family, and I miss him a lot. I can imagine talking to him about whats happened the last few weeks, and often I find myself imagining the conversation taking place and how he would react. He was always very kind, thoughtful, and considerate about things like this. I felt very bad about the way Vince McMahon badgered and bullied his wife on the Monday night RAW show in Kansas City, and I think that was the first true sign that Vince McMahon was on the wrong road. I found it very offensive, and it was from that night on that I told my wife to never fall victim to his smooth talking BS if anything like that ever happened to me. I also told her to not let the kids watch the show anymore, and that I personally haven't watched the show since then. That was long before I signed with WCW. I believe I did all of that out of respect for Brian Pillman. I miss him a lot.
Fkngoofy (Prodigy Member) if you were making 3 million a year what was McMahon paying Shawn Michaels?
BRET HART (Speaker) First of all, I want to make it very clear that contrary to what you read, it's my understanding that nobody has accurately figured out what I was making before or after I signed with WCW. My contracts with either company have always been closely guarded, and in many ways I've been flattered and sometimes even insulted at the various numbers thrown around. Nobody really knows but me and the people I made my deals with. As for what Shawn Michaels makes, I have an idea because Vince McMahon told me, but I don't want to lower myself to his level. If I've learned one thing about Vince McMahon it's that he was probably lying when he told me...so I'd rather not even get into that.
Prince Piper (Prodigy Member) While you've said in your Calgary Sun interview that you'd never work for the WWF again, would you accept membership into their Hall of Fame?
BRET HART (Speaker) No
KevTheGrad (Prodigy Member) Bret, how soon do you foresee WCW making some stops in major Canadian cities like Montreal, Toronto, Ottawa, Calgary, Edmonton, Vancouver....? Are you pushing for this?
BRET HART (Speaker) I think it might take 2 or 3 months to organize and coordinate it, but I have no doubts that WCW will make a serious run at controlling Canada...and even without me, with the crew that they have already had for the last year or so, I think it would only have been a matter of time before they took the lions share of the Canadian market anyway. The fact of the matter is, WCW has for quite sometime had far more depth in the talent department than the WWF. Things are only getting worse for the WWF People in Canada are just going to have to be patient and get acquainted with WCW. The WWF, if they continue in the direction they are going, with the sexual content, racial overtones, poor rehearsed choreography, and things that are flat out disgraceful as wiping your a$$ with the Canadian flag and humping it in the middle of the ring like Shawn Michaels did...it won't be very long before they get themselves yanked off the air with or without WCW breathing down their neck. Canada's not very tolerant of things like that.
KevTheGrad (Prodigy Member) What can you tell us about the working atmosphere right now or at least when you left Titan? Are you still in contact with anybody? Do you foresee any other wrestlers leaving due to what happened?
BRET HART (Speaker) I wouldn't really want to say. I know that many of them are not happy. All I can really say is that when you can take Bret Hart after 14 years of the most loyal dedicated hardworking professional service that anyone has ever seen, and threaten to break his contract and then ultimately try to rape and murder him in the ring from an artistic standpoint, and then depict him with nothing but lies after he has left, and paint him out to be the bad guy when they all know different....people know the truth, and the truth is out there. When something like that happens, I think it sends a very strong message to each and every one that this is a company that has no respect in any way shape or form for their talent, and that the wrestlers themselves are nothing but circus animals with no rights and no respect and ultimately in the end they take you out back behind the tents and put a couple of slugs in the back of your head....that this is all you can look forward to for all the hard work. I think it's a very sad reflection on the state of affairs in the business in the WWF and it reflects very much on the fact that the WWF, their inner circle, and Vince's right hand men, care very little if at all about the wrestlers or that 'code of honor' amongst wrestlers for the simple fact that Jim Ross, Bruce Pritchard, Vince Russo, and even Vince McMahon never have been, never will be, and know nothing about what it's like to actually be a wrestler. None of them know what it's like to put your body in the hands of another man....the trust involved...the respect involved....even the art itself has been lost to an administration that has never laced up a pair of boots in their life.
maddog 0 (Prodigy Member) Mr. Hart, What do you think about when Vince McMahon said "Bret Screwed Bret" On RAW or War Zone or whatever it is?
BRET HART (Speaker) First of all, I thought it was an absolutely ridiculous statement to make. I've been very honest and open about everything that happened before Survivor Series. I never screwed Bret. I was very honest and I think even more so, I was very fair in my demands which were quite simple in that I just didn't want to let my Canadian fans down as their hero on that specific weekend. I think after 14 years that that's a reasonable demand. How much damage would that have caused? Very little, I think. Especially in light of what they did do. Also, from the fact that from a contractual standpoint, I had 'reasonable creative control' for my last 30 days. Not only was it my legal right, but professionally it was reasonable as well. I can say with all honesty that my integrity has been in place for 14 years, and I gave Vince McMahon absolutely everything I could in the ring and out of the ring. I respected him. I trusted him. I would never have lied to him or failed him. The fact that I was leaving was, as he said, a favor to him because he couldn't afford me anymore. I would be doing him a favor and the company a favor if I would go back to WCW and make a deal that would be better for me in the long run. What people have to understand is, I was very happy in the WWF and when I said I was in the WWF for life...I meant it. He was the one who was going to break my contract. He was the one that gave me the right for creative control for my last 30 days. He was the one that told me in Montreal that it was acceptable to him for me to leave that night as champion with my head up in a dignified way...that it would be all right by him to step down the next night at RAW as his champion and he was the one that intruded on me and surrounded me in the dressing room with several of his henchmen after the match when I warned him to leave. All I can say is Vince screwed me and screwed me and screwed me and finally suffered the consequences for it, and I in no shape or form screwed myself or my fellow wrestlers, and for a guy who is supposed to be so smart, he showed me nothing but incredibly poor judgement and a streak of dishonesty that has followed him from Bruno Sammartino to Bob Backlund to Billy Superstar Graham to Hulk Hogan to Randy Savage...and the list goes on and on and on. I ask myself and I ask all the wrestling fans out there to finally look at the facts and realize that this man is a very distrustful guy to do business with and that maybe Phil
BRET HART (Speaker) Mushnick of the New York Post has been right all along.
BRET HART (Speaker) He doesn't seem to be a very nice guy at all.
PWBTS (Prodigy Member) Bret - Do you feel that WCW is capable of sustaining what may be the deepest talent base in wrestling history and still keep everyone an integral part of it's product?
BRET HART (Speaker) I imagine so. Again, I'm not familiar with the inner workings of WCW at all. I will say this much. All my dealings, including the ones I had last year, they were very honest and very upfront in all ways. I think on account of the fact that Time Warner is in charge of the funding that all the ego problems will probably sort themselves out. I've always felt that the biggest concern in wrestling as far as positioning went was in regard to how it would reflect on your paycheck. Even in the WWF once the guaranteed contracts, which came as a result of WCW, the ego problems all seemed to fade away except for one. I think it's fair to say that Shawn Michaels had a huge problem with what I was being paid compared to what he was being paid. That may have ultimately led to the disaster of Montreal. As far as WCW goes, I really don't care what anybody makes...from a before or after standpoint. I really just look forward to artistically meshing with the wide variety of the best athletes and professionals in the world today and giving my fans some of the great matches that they have long been dreaming for. Winning and losing has never been that important to me. Only the respect that comes from being a great talent. Again, back to Shawn Michaels...the difference between Shawn Michaels and me...and maybe between Shawn Michaels and Hulk Hogan, to be a real leader in the dressing room you have to be respected from the opening match all the way up. I think it's fair to say that Hulk Hogan always was, and I always was respected from top to bottom. Shawn Michaels has looked down on all his fellow wrestlers and is not held in high regard by his peers, and has set the stage for someone like me to say I can't respect him if he doesn't respect them. By his conduct and attitude, it would be unfair to my fellow wrestlers to pass the honor over to the likes of him. What I did was get respect from all my fellow wrestlers for saying something and doing something about someone that they are not in a position to do.
spicegirls22 (Prodigy Member) What is the status of Davey and Owen?
BRET HART (Speaker) I'm not really sure. I don't know Davey's situation, but I do suspect that Vince McMahon will make Owen stick to his contract and force him to be part of a storyline centered around the true life deliberate lying and cheating and artistic murder of his brother's character, which reeks of bad taste and reminds me of a pimp forcing someone into prostitution. For the WWF to take this horrible thing that they've done to me and make it appear like it's just another wrestling storyline hopefully gives people an in debth look at Vince McMahon's integrity and if he was any kind of a man he would admit that he was wrong and he did wrong and he would allow Owen at least the opportunity to leave the company if he wasn't happy. My personal feeling is that I have in no way and never will suggest to Owen to break his contract, but I will say it would certainly look nice if the WWF offered him a release. I doubt it will ever happen, and no matter what ever happens on the WWF TV show with my brother Owen, I love him very much, I wish him all the best, and I hope someday we can sit out on his boat and go fishing and talk about how crazy life got back in 1997. I feel sorry for him.
Hoser Claus (Prodigy Member) Bret, I've heard a rumor that the Survivor Series ending was pre-arranged by you and Vince....I have a real tough time believing this....your comments?
BRET HART (Speaker) That's so stupid....that it doesn't deserve answering. I do know that a lot of people think that is the case...that this is just another storyline and maybe a well worked out way for me to leave the company. I can say this. I swear on my children's heads that I never submitted, that I knew nothing about the ending of that match, and that it was as big an insult to me as it was to the wrestling business as a whole and that Dave Meltzer had it right that it was the biggest screwjob in the history of professional wrestling. I said to Vince McMahon in the dressing room that this would be his company's death knell. What I meant by that was that this horribly bad decision is one I feel he will regret forever and ever. I think that one thing I have emulated over the years has been a form of integrity and respect unparralled maybe by any other wrestler ever....and that wrestling fans, wrestlers, and just people in general have not been able to swallow what a horrible injustice this really was. I really do think that this bad decision ultimately will lead to wrestling fans turning the channels faster than ever, it will cause a form of anarchy in the WWF dressing room that has never been seen before and much like Verne Gagne and the AWA the fact that Vince McMahon screwed over his best and greatest hero will bring down the WWF once and for all.
Hugh Morrus (Prodigy Member) And have you come up with anything for entrance music yet?
BRET HART (Speaker) I'm working on it. I have some musician friends of mine up in Canada, a band called Odds is working on it. I also understand that there is a possibility that even Bryan Adams might consider letting me use one of his songs. I also know that WCW is working on a song for me. They ultimately have the final say, I think, in that regard.
Chris in MI (Prodigy Member) Did you ever consider appearing on WWF programming after the Survivor Series, but before your contract expired?
BRET HART (Speaker) No. Not after Survivor Series. To be honest, they breached the contract, and I made no effort whatsoever to ever go back.
Hoser Claus (Prodigy Member) Bret, how much of the truth did Vince casually "leave out" during his segment on RAW a few weeks ago?
BRET HART (Speaker) I'll give you an example.....he said that it was a joint decision for me to leave the WWF. That was a lie. He left out the most important part of the whole thing, which was he confronted me in Madison Square Garden around September 22 that they were going to break my contract and pay me anywhere from half the amount to maybe even less. I think that tells a lot about the picture that he doesn't paint. He said I didn't honor the time honored tradition, when he didn't mention that from a contractual standpoint I had every right to do that. He certainly didn't mention that he didn't honor the same traditions himself. Perhaps people would like to hear what Bruno Sammartino and Bob Backlund and even Hulk Hogan think of him honoring his word and the wrestling traditions. The questions all asked were set up by him from Jim Ross and I believe even tomorrow on RAW they will make another mad desperate attempt to distort the truth and ride this wave that they have created out of screwing over the best talent they ever had for little or no reason. They will force my brother to go along with a storyline based around it, and you will probably see that the only thing the WWF has going for it anymore is what Bret Hart did. It's a sad testimony to a company that I always felt in my heart was the greatest wrestling organization of all time. How Vince McMahon has lost his way this bad is has heartbreaking to me as anybody else.
Chris in MI (Prodigy Member) How would you like to end your career?
BRET HART (Speaker) I'd like to end my career with the greatest match I ever had. Win or lose.
ECI Jep (Prodigy Member) Bret hows that hand?
BRET HART (Speaker) My hand is getting better. I fractured a couple of knuckles and broke a little bone about an inch above my wrist. If I could get people to stop shaking my hand and congratulating me on everything that has happened, it would probably heal a lot faster. I start lifting weights again tomorrow. I've been sidelined since Montreal.
RobNYC (Prodigy Member) Do you see yourself getting lost in the shuffle down in WCW, whereas before you were pretty much the main man in the WWF?
BRET HART (Speaker) No, I don't. I think there is a commitment by them and by me. That commitment is that talent is talent. I've sensed for some time that WCW has great respect for my talent, and even greater respect for my integrity. I think the feelings are mutual. As a closing statement, I want all of my fans both new and old to understand that my memories with the WWF will live forever in my heart. I'll miss the WWF very much, and from this point on, I don't plan on addressing the WWF or bashing the WWF. I've made my points clear. I apologize for nothing. I gave them everything I had, and despite the fact that things ended the way they did, I will always be proud of all the years I had with the WWF with the exception of my last 20 minutes. I'm not proud of what happened between me and Vince McMahon, and I hope all my fellow wrestlers there will prosper and things will go well for them....especially my brother Owen. I don't plan on discussing this topic or this issue anymore. I will make no more rebuttals of statements or commentary made about me on their programs. I hope in a sense to bury the hatchet and to move on in what for me has been a very very difficult time and much of the last month has broken my heart. The last look on my face at Survivor Series was one of a hero that felt betrayed and let down by an organization that I had given all I could give. In a certain sense the Hitman character was brutally murdered by Vince McMahon, Shawn Michaels, Earl Hebner, and a handful of others. All one has to do is see the look on my face at the end of that match and you can see what a terrible hurt it was for me, but I thank God that I will get an opportunity to resurrect myself in WCW and that I will prove myself to all my doubters and will prove myself once again to all my fans and fellow wrestlers and I can't wait to let the new stories unfold whether it's with Hulk Hogan, Sting, Ric Flair, Chris Benoit...there are so many Superstars down there that I can't wait to jump into the mix. Vince McMahon said something which I feel was just another lie and that was I wasn't worth the money anymore. Well, I appreciate very much that WCW felt otherwise, and again I can only promise that I'm going to give everything I have and I'll continue to be to the best of my ability, the best there is, the best there was, the best there every will be...., to keep all my promises and follow my heart. I will see you all on NITRO soon enough.
BRET HART (Speaker) Thanks for hearing me out.